FTAM/9000 User's Guide

Chapter 4 65
Special FTAM Files
The FTAM Startup File
The FTAM Startup File
If you want to simplify your day–to–day use of FTAM, you can create a
“startup” file called .ftamrc, usually in your home directory. The
.ftamrc file contains two types of information:
• The logins and passwords for connecting to remote hosts.
• Special default settings for FTAM operation.
CAUTION A startup file that contains password information is a potential security
hazard . This may be an unacceptable risk in some situations. In such
cases, startup files should not contain password information.
General Rules about .ftamrc
There are two general rules to follow when setting up your .ftamrc file:
1. Use the chmod command to set the permissions on .ftamrc as
follows:
user group other
r * * - - - - - -
The file owner must have read access. Permissions marked by ‘*’ can
be set as you wish. All other permissions must be off.
2. The HP-UX environment variable FTAMRC specifies the full
pathname for the FTAM startup file. If FTAMRC is not set, FTAM
looks for .ftamrc in your $HOME directory.
Automating Logins with .ftamrc
For each host you want to connect to, you can create a line in .ftamrc
like this:
machine hostname login login_name [password pswd ] [account
acct_name ]
For example, examine the following line from a .ftamrc file:
machine chicago login betty password sesame